The invention relates to the art of macrame or the knotting of cords to create a variety of patterns and more particularly to a macrame kit which can be employed with cord to form such patterns.
The art of macrame is an ancient one which has recently undergone a revival in popularity. Generally, a plurality of cords are suspended from a horizontally extending bar member and are knotted together beginning adjacent the bar member and progressing downwardly until the desired pattern is completed. However, in order to facilitate knotting of the cords a board member is frequently employed, such board being formed of a material which can be penetrated readily by a pin element used to pin the cord to the board at a specific location while the cords are knotted. Usually the board or knotting surface is positioned slightly below the horizontal bar member and, as the cords are knotted to form the desired pattern, the already completed area of the pattern is displaced upwardly over the bar member in order that a lower section of the cords can be located in the area of the knotting board. Thus, the use of a knotting board greatly facilitates handling of the cords and formation of the knotted pattern. Further, patterns made of paper can be secured to the knotting board for use as a background guide against which the knotted pattern is developed. The board, or a detachable pattern, can be sub-divided into measured areas if so desired in order to further serve as a guide in the development of the knotting.
Several disadvantages are inherent in the use of macrame boards and kits presently in use. First, no convenient means have been provided to avoid entanglement of the cords during the knotting procedure. Although T pins and U pins afford some assistance in the guidance of the cords in the board area such pins do not avoid entanglement of the cords which depend below the board. This requires periodic untangling during the knotting process. Also, the pins are pointed at one end for penetration into the board. The use of sharp needle-like elements, although necessary with the prior macrame boards, constituted a hazard and often resulted in jabs and cuts causing pain, sometimes infection, and at the least annoyance. It was also found that the pinning of the cords to the board led to fraying of the cords and ultimately to destruction of the board. Another disadvantage of macrame boards and kits currently in use is the extreme difficulty, if not impossibility, of transporting the board and the work in progress so as to enable one to continue the knotting procedure during transit.